The Prince Beneath the Mask
by Takagi Arin
Summary: AU. Noctis Lucis Caelum, most people know him for his naivety in politics despite being the prince.. But is he really as he seems? Hint of NoctisxStella(Noctella)..One Shot. Please R&R.


**Cracked Mask**

The room was huge and glowed under the giant chandeliers that filled the ceiling. It was filled with people from different countries. Anyone who entered this room could not deny the fact that this room was especially meant for the royal, nobles, and highly esteemed. Everyone was different but they were similar in their expensive clothing. Men wore tuxedos and the biggest of watches while the women wore fitting dresses made out of the finest materials along with jewellery from the most precious of jewels. Noctis's eyes trailed across the room and stopped when he saw a set of spiral staircase that led to the upper hall.

_The place I met her..._ Noctis could not stop himself from thinking. An image of her beautiful porcelain skin, bright golden locks and soft purple eyes flashed in his mind. He wondered why she was not here today and knew that many other nobles would wonder too. She was renowned for trying to establish peace whenever she could. So why was she not at the peace conference today? Noctis did not know but at the back of his mind wondered if she was trying to avoid him.

His heart clenched at the thought of her. She had saved him from himself, his demons. He was unsure how he felt about her but the attraction was there. He could not deny that. How he felt attracted at the thought that she was like him, a being that was human but at the same time not.

He looked around for something to distract him, anything at all to make him stop thinking about her. His eyes caught sight of the goddess Etro, well at least a painting of her. The painting stood there in its majestic beauty. She who had caused him so much suffering yet helped him when he was at lost. He knew not if he should hate her or love her. She had gifted him but he felt that he had been cursed instead.

_I'm sorry my dear child... _A sweet callous voice whispered in his ears. He whipped his head at the source of it. The accursed gift. The light that only he could see in this crowded hall.

* * *

"Presenting the guardian clan" the doormen announced, startling Noctis from his musings. In came the familiar beautiful warriors from Sancta Terra strolling in the room with an almost god-like grace.

_How? What? Why? They're not supposed to be here! _Noctis felt like a deer caught in headlights. He had once ventured into Sancta Terra in search of the clan to make an agreement of sorts. His country's council _of idiots_ had insulted this powerful clan and he had shown a part of his true personality, to settle the dispute between their parties in secret. His true personality was kept hidden from the world and was replaced with a naive and weak persona that he was known for. Would the clan recognise him? Should he hide? But that was not an option, he was a prince and while his father usually separated him from politics due to his naive nature, this was a peace conference and whether he liked it or not he was part of the royal house and was required to attend. He looked around as if it would give him a solution. His eyes caught sight of Ignis. Ignis looked at him and nodded his head slightly giving him a silent message._ Stay here._

The guardian clan was a group of trained female warriors. They were sort of similar to amazons, Valkyries or the Hunters of Artermis from folklore and mythology and only allowed females to join them. They were many rumors about the clan that were never confirmed but only one fact was clear, they were strong. In fact one of the strongest clan of warriors there was. They were never questioned about their strength, never challenged. That changed when the council had foolishly insulted their clan.

Noctis's father had tried to remedy the situation but his efforts were to no avail. While Noctis was mostly apathetic to the problems his kingdom faced due to having to play the naive prince, they were already in the middle of one war and could not afford another. So he went to negotiate with them in secret without letting anyone but Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto know. He had shown his true personality and had even crossed blades with their leader Reyna, who he later had a fling with.

Reyna had the perfect figure with a tan unblemished skin. She had a slightly muscular built that did not reflect her physical strength. She was a warrior at heart and was undefeated, that is before he beat her. Reyna was the blessed child of Virtus, the goddess of war.**(AN: Virtus is the goddess of bravery and military strength in Roman mythology)** He wondered why she and her warriors were here since they had already settled their dispute. His father's loud voice had answered that question.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation!" _Ah.. So that's why_.

"Of course we did. We felt that it would be such a shame if we did not accept something from the kingdom who had so foolishly insulted us," her venomous words echoed in the hall silencing all noise that used to be.

The king winced at her poison-laced words. Everyone held their breath at the obvious disdain she had for this kingdom. Noctis almost sweat dropped at her words when he remembered the first few words she had spoken to him a year back. _I do not care about foolish insults. I am above all that. _He suddenly realised that she was not speaking as Reyna but as the leader of her clan. She was voicing out the thoughts of her subordinates.

"We would like to hopefully settle the dispute between us," his father's clear voice had not wavered but Noctis could sense the underlying nervousness that was hidden. Even he would not want a conflict with these women.

She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes narrowed at Noctis and then she smirked.

"Oh? You don't have to worry. Your prince over there has already settled it." she pointed at him with her nimble fingers at him as she said this with a flirtatious tone.

He winced at her words. She knew that he was hiding it yet she so boldly announced it. He could not help but panic when he felt the stares he was receiving from the crowd._ Oh crap!_

* * *

**_Danger!_**Noctis's instinct shouted as a sharp blade was hurled towards his direction.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing echoed in the hall. There stood Gladiolus, shielding his prince with his massive sword. Prompto was not far away, pointing his rifle at the warriors while Ignis held his katana at the attacker's neck, Reyna.

The warriors unsheathe their blade and got into a ready position to defend their leader. The guards in the hall did the same defending the nobles should a fight break out.

"Stand down!" Reyna commanded.

"What is the meaning of this?! Attacking my son!" the king cried in outrage.

"Just wanted to see if he still has those instincts of his. Too bad he's little friends over there had to ruin it." she drawled looking quit disappointed that she could not see him fight.

The thrill she had fighting him was still fresh in her mind. Oh what she would do to feel that rush of adrenaline once again. A year ago, she had been bored of fighting as the results were always the same. She had always won. But when she fought with him, that excitement came back to her. There was someone stronger, faster, better than her and that someone had been Noctis. She remembered her fury when she realised that he had not fought her at full power. She remembered the flash of blue hair and the vicious glowing red eyes that was very different from his usual appearance. _How could anyone defeat that kind of monster? _All thoughts of fighting him at full power had been banished from her thoughts. She hoped she'd never meet that red-eyed demon.

"Well..." Noctis drawled, "They don't just stick around me for fun you know?" Noctis's voice was laced with amusement, his true personality shining through slightly.

This brought a wave of unease towards the crowd. What else has the prince hidden from them? Firstly he had resolved the dispute with the Guardians. Secondly, he seemed to be quite friendly with their leader. And thirdly, his friends were combatants, strong ones. _Had the prince been playing the fool?_

Reyna took out an old looking scroll with ancient writings on it and showed it to the crowed, and then the king and Noctis. It was written in the language of the gods, many have tried to translate this language but none has succeeded. Unknown to them only those blessed by any god would be able to read them.

"I need your help.." Reyna voice was confident but her eyes betrayed her.

Her request was clearly directed at Noctis. Her pleading gaze boring holes through his retina.

"Can someone please explain?!" the king's voice rumbled.

This caused the crowd to start murmuring among one another, some even demanding for answers.

"Not including the gods, only those blessed by any god are able read this. Didn't you know that your son is one of them?" Reyna's companion explained, a bit perplexed that the king did not know anything about his own son.

The muttering started again, some people looking at Noctis with either mostly disbelief or awe.

"That is PREPOSTEROUS!" one of the council member shouting his obvious disbelief. The prince was a fool. He was neither religious nor was he anything special. This matter could not have been hidden from the council.

"Is this true?" the king looked at Noctis.

_What should I do? To hell with this! Maybe it's time for them to get to know me. Reyna wouldn't have exposed me for a stupid matter. _

"DingDingDing! The old man finally gets it!" his cheerful words were as if he was a child but no one could miss the dripping bitterness in his voice.

Noctis was never important to his father. He was weak, foolish and a reminder of the king's wife's death. When his mother died all Noctis felt was bitterness and anger. He never felt any ill feelings toward his father for he himself felt guilty for his mother's death. He should have died that day along with his mother if not for Etro. When he finally avenged his mother in the war, he thought he would find closure. He thought he would be free from the guilt, despair, anger and deep utter hatred. But he wasn't, he grew angrier every day and only felt happy around his friends. Maybe that was his nature. He would be in darkness forever for he was not blessed by one deity but two. One was Etro, the goddess of death and the other** Him**… He grimaced at the thought of his other deity. His **mask** was to hide his violent nature- the red-eyed monster inside of him, the part of him that was gifted by **Him.**

_Crack!_

And today would be the day he cracked his mask.

* * *

**Hey! Some of you may have read a different version of this which I uploaded under a different name. It was my first fanfic and I deleted it after finding many faults with it… I wanted to do a whole series but I wanted to wait until the game finally got released.. So this is a one-shot for now? Not sure if I should continue..**


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